Trump Administration Plans Foreign Aid Use to Repatriate 700,000 Ukrainians, Haitians

The Trump administration is considering a plan to use up to $250 million in U.S. foreign aid funds to finance the voluntary repatriation of migrants from active conflict zones, notably including over 200,000 Ukrainians and 500,000 Haitians. This proposal follows the Biden administration's granting of temporary protected status (TPS) to these groups, allowing them to stay in the U.S. due to unsafe conditions in their home countries. The plan reportedly aims to bypass the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which typically assists with migrant returns but does not support repatriation to these high-risk areas. Additional nationalities potentially targeted include Afghans, Palestinians, Libyans, Sudanese, Syrians, and Yemenis. Critics argue the proposal is inhumane, risks forcing vulnerable people to return to dangerous countries, and may misuse foreign aid funds intended for refugee support. While Department of Homeland Security officials have described the draft documents as outdated, DHS and the State Department recently signed an agreement outlining the process with the mentioned funding, though no final decisions have been made on TPS for Haiti or Ukraine.